Two significant changes were present on the recently released Wright City R-II calendar for the 2021-22 school year. One of those moves stands to serve the district well and the other may work against it.

The start date for students will be Aug. 23, with the final day of school scheduled for May 27. R-II Superintendent Dr. Chris Berger says restrictions imposed by legislation at the state level limit the district from having much flexibility — and that may ultimately impact summer school enrollment.

“That start date represents the earliest we can start,” said Berger. “That’s frustrating, because it’s a mandate from our legislature that was implemented during this current year’s calendar. This restricts a lot of decision making at the local level.”

The later start date also means the window between the final day of regular session and the beginning of summer school is significantly less, and that concerns Berger.

“What we have found is that the later you end school, the more likely it is that kids will not come to summer school,” said Berger. “They typically come to summer school after there’s been a break, and they would like to be around peers again.”

Berger says summer school has several benefits, including provision of meals and childcare through June and the option to help students make up deficits in learning from the regular year.

“There’s funding attached to that, and most districts seek to net a positive when it comes to summer school,” said Berger. “Whatever you net on summer school subsidizes the regular year.”

The second impactful change for the district regards how R-II will approach inclement weather days. There will be two seated makeup days, with students making up the missed day within the same month, rather than at the end of the year. Once those two days are used, the district will move to AMI (Alternative Method of Instruction).

“If those two days are utilized, we will be pivoting to AMI for that inclement weather day,” said Berger. “That doesn’t mean kids will be looking at a computer for seven hours a day but does mean students will have opportunity to engage.”

While AMI has made its emergence as a resource during COVID-19, Berger says it was being discussed at the state level several years prior to implementation. 

The school calendar includes a Thanksgiving break from Nov. 24-26, a semester break from Dec. 20-31 and a spring break from March 21-25. Parent-teacher conferences will be held over the course of three days from Oct. 4-6.